Rubio suggests 'Pakistanis will travel to Iran' as talks show 'good signs'

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Pakistani mediators will travel to Iran on Thursday as cautious signs of hope for a diplomatic breakthrough appear.

In a conversation with reporters, Rubio said, "The Pakistanis will travel to Iran today."

He added, "Negotiations with Iran have made some progress," while noting, "There are some good signs."

However, the secretary warned against premature optimism. 

"I don’t want to be overly optimistic. Let's see what happens in the next few days."

Rubio's statement comes on the heels of reports suggesting the Pakistani leader will visit Iran in days.

A spotlight shone on Islamabad for brokering backchannel talks between the U.S. and Iran to first avert the war and now to end it.

For the past several weeks, the capital of Pakistan has been relaying messages to both countries in a bid to diffuse tension and find a middle ground to end hostilities.